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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 2009-03 - Board TRUCKEE DONNER Resolution No. 2009 - 03 POLICY REGARDING REIMBURSEMENT OF TRAVEL AND TRAINING EXPENSES FOR THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS WHEREAS, Directors of the Board on occasion incur expenses while involved in official Truckee Donner Public Utility District business or while attending authorized meetings or training; and WHEREAS the District needs to establish a policy for the reimbursement of expenses by Board members as required by the California Government Code sections 53232.2 and 53233.3, and by Assembly Bill 1234; and WHEREAS the Policy will provide guidance to elected officials on the use and expenditure of District resources, including cost control measures, allowable uses of District issued credit cards, and submitting proper expense reports; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF TRUCKEE DONNER PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT that: The Travel and Expense Reimbursement Policy( Exhibit"A' forthe Board of Directors is hereby adopted. PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of Directors at a meeting duly called and held within the District on the seventh day of January 2009 by the following roll call vote: AYES: Directors Aguera, Bender, Hemig, Hillstrom and Sutton NOES: None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: None TRUCKEE DONN PUBLIC U LITY DISTRICT 0 7 ,6711, It J. Ron a 'g, resident ATTE T: Michael D. Holley, Distr' r TRUCKEE DONNER PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT TRAVEL AND EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT POLICY FOR BOARD OF DIRECTORS Section 1. Objective To establish a policy governing the reimbursement to members of the Board of Directors ("Directors") for expenses incurred while involved in official Truckee Donner Public Utility District ("District") business or while attending authorized meetings or training. Section 2. Policy Content 1. It is District policy to use public funds for travel and training only when there is a substantial benefit to the District. 2. This policy provides guidance to elected and appointed officials on the use and expenditure of District resources, as well as the standards directing those expenditures. 3. It is District policy to satisfy the requirements of Government Code sections 53232.2 and 53233.3 and AB 1234. 4. It is District policy to reimburse Directors for authorized travel, meals, lodging, and other actual and necessary expenses that are reasonably incurred in the conduct of District business and detailed in an expense report with receipts attached. Section 3. Allowable Expenses Directors shall only use District funds, equipment, supplies, and staff time for authorized District business. Directors shall use good judgment when incurring business expenses, and are expected to use a reasonably economic means of lodging, meals and transportation that will meet the traveler's requirements with due consideration to safety and comfort. Expenses reasonably incurred in connection with the following types of Director activities generally constitute allowable expenses, as long as the other requirements of this Policy are met: 1. Meetings and communicating with representatives of regional, state and national government on adopted policy positions; 2. Attending approved educational seminars designed to improve Directors' skill and information level; 3. Participating in regional, state and national organization meetings or trainings, such as NCPA, UAMPS, AWWA or CSDA; and 4. All other reasonable expenditures previously approved by the District's governing body in a public meeting before the expenditures were incurred. 1 Travel & Expense Policy for Directors a. Airfare Air travel shall be by coach or standard class. The most cost-effective route shall be used. Alternate routes or additional stops for the Director's personal benefit shall be at the Director's expense, prorated to the most cost-effective, direct route to the District- related destination. b. Automobile Rental vehicle expense may be reimbursed when a Director, or other District official, is attending an out-of-town conference, and it is determined that a rental vehicle is the most economical transportation available. In making this determination, the rental costs, parking and gasoline expenses shall be compared to the combined costs of other available transportation. Automobile mileage for personally owned automobiles shall be reimbursed at the IRS rate currently in effect (see www.irs.gov). The rates are designed to compensate the driver for gasoline, insurance, maintenance and other expenses associated with operating the vehicle. Reasonable parking and toll expenses shall also be reimbursed, but not fines and penalties for the violation of traffic, parking or other laws. Directors must have a valid driver's license and adequate liability insurance on their vehicle. Proof of both shall be on record at the District office. c. Taxis/Shuttles Reasonable taxi or shuttle fares may be reimbursed, including a fifteen percent (15%) gratuity per fare, when the cost of such fares is equal to or less than the cost of vehicle rentals, gasoline and parking combined, or when such transportation is reasonably necessary for time-efficiency. Fare reimbursements require valid receipts. Section 6. Lodging The District shall reimburse the actual cost of reasonable lodging required for overnight travel. Directors incurring overnight lodging costs while on District business shall seek appropriate, economical accommodations. Directors shall use government and group rates for lodging when available. Pursuant to AB 1234, if the Director's lodging is in connection with a conference or other seminar (e.g. mandatory ethics training), the lodging costs cannot exceed the group rate published by the event sponsor. If the group rate is not available at the time of booking, the Director is to use comparable lodging that does not exceed the District's Policy or IRS rates, whichever is lower. 3 Travel & Expense Policy for Directors Any unused advance shall be returned to the District within five (5) business days after either the expenditure date or the Director returns from out-of-town. The Director shall also provide valid itemized receipts and a detailed expense report explaining how the cash advance was used in compliance with this Policy. If the District's General Manager is uncertain as to whether a request complies with this Policy, then the requesting Director shall seek approval from the District's Board at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting. Section 12. Credit Card Use Policy District credit cards have been issued to each Director and shall only be used for authorized District-related expenses. Absolutely no personal charges may be placed on the District's credit card at any time. The Director shall provide valid receipts within thirty (30) business days of the credit card use. All submitted credit card expenses shall include the proprietary itemized receipt and the credit card receipt. The Director shall also include a detailed expense report stating the: 1. Dates of the expenditure(s); 2. Purpose of the expenditure(s); 3. Benefits of the expenditure(s) to the District; and 4. Any additional information. Section 13. Submitting Travel Expense Reports All cash advance expenditures, credit card expenses and other expense reimbursement requests shall be submitted on the District provided expense report form. This form shall include the following advisory: All expenses reported on this form shall comply with the District's policies relating to expenses and use of public resources. The information submitted on this form is a public record Penalties for misusing public resources and violating the District's policies include loss of reimbursement privileges, restitution to the District, civil and criminal penalties as well as additional income tax liability. It is the Director's responsibility to provide a complete, detailed and factual accounting of expenses on every expense report. Expense reports shall also indicate that the documented expenses comply with this Policy. Except for cash advances, which must be submitted in accordance with Section 11 above, Directors shall submit their expense reports within thirty (30) days of incurring an expense. 5 Travel & Expense Policy for Directors Expense reports shall include valid, itemized receipts for each documented expense. All ` credit card expense reports shall include the proprietary itemized receipt and the credit card receipt. Inability to provide this required documentation may preclude reimbursement and the Director will be personally responsible for the expenses. The District's General Manager shall verify that the submitted expense report complies with this Policy and approve the expense report for payment or reimbursement. Section 14. Reports to the Governing Board Directors shall provide brief reports on meetings, seminars, conferences, and other events that they have attended at the District's expense during the next regular Board meeting. If multiple Directors attended the same event, then a joint report may be provided to the Board. Section 15. Compliance with Laws Directors shall keep in mind that some expenditures may be subject to additional reporting requirements under the Political Reform Act and other applicable laws. All District expenditures are public records subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act. Section 16. Violation of This Policy Use of public resources or falsifying expense reports in violation of this Policy may result in the following penalties, without limitation: 1) loss of reimbursement privileges; 2) a restitution to the District; 3) additional state and federal income tax liability for the Director; 4) civil penalties for misuse of public resources (up to $1,000 per day plus three times the value of the unlawful use; and 5) prosecution for misuse of public resources (2, 3, or 4 years in state prison and disqualification from holding public office in California). 6 Travel & Expense Policy for Directors The District's reimbursable lodging rate is the reasonable base room rate charged, plus lodging taxes. Lodging reimbursements require valid, itemized receipts. Section 7. Meals Directors must use good judgment as to the reasonableness of meal expenses. Reasonable meal costs shall be based upon the per diem rate tables listed in IRS Publication 1542. Directors shall use reasonable efforts to avoid particular areas of high- cost meals and travel. Meal gratuities should not exceed acceptable and customary practices. Directors are encouraged to take advantage of meals included in the price of a seminar, conference, and/or their hotel room. Meal reimbursements require valid, itemized receipts. Section 8. Telephone/Fax/Cellular Directors shall be reimbursed for reasonable telephone, cellular, and fax expenses when traveling for District business. When on overnight travel, one telephone call per day to the Directors family may be submitted for reimbursement. Telephone bills submitted for reimbursement shall identify all calls made for District business. For cellular calls based on a Director's specified minute plan, the Director shall identify the percentage of calls made for District business for reimbursement. The District shall not reimburse cellular charges for multimedia or text messaging services, unless permissible under Section 9, below. Section 9. Internet -- Directors shall be reimbursed for Internet access and/or usage fees while out of town if Internet access is reasonably necessary for District-related business. Internet-related expenses shall not exceed fifteen dollar ($15) per day. Section 10. Airport Parking Long-term parking shall be used for travel exceeding 24 hours. Directors shall use good judgment in selecting the most cost-effective parking accommodations available. Section 11. Cash Advance Policy From time to time, it may be necessary for a Director to request a reasonable cash advance for anticipated expenses while conducting District business. All cash advance requests shall be submitted to the District's General Manager five (5) business days prior to the need for the cash advance. The written requests shall include the: 1. Purpose of the expenditure(s); 2. Benefits of the expenditure(s) to the District; 3. Estimated amount of the expenditure(s) (e.g., lodging, meal, and transportation expenses); and 4. Dates of the expenditure(s). "" 4 Travel & Expense Policy for Directors Examples of expenses that the District will not reimburse include, without limitation: 1. The personal portion of any District-related trip; 2. Political or charitable contributions or events; 3. Family expenses, including partner's expenses when accompanying a Director on District-related business, as well as children- or pet-related expenses; 4. Entertainment expenses, including theater, movies (either in-room or at the theater), sporting events (including gym, massage and/or golf related expenses), or other cultural events; 5. Mileage to and from District facilities or to attend meetings of the Board of Directors; 6. Non-mileage personal automobile expenses, including repairs, traffic citations, insurance or gasoline; and 7. Personal losses incurred while on District business. Section 4. Authorization for Travel or Training Any expenses that do not fall within this Policy or the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") rates must be approved by the District's governing body in a public meeting before the expenditures were incurred; otherwise, the expenses are not reimbursable. Board members shall request authorization to attend meetings or training during the "Director Update" section of a regular Board of Directors meeting. If there is no Board opposition, the request will be considered authorized by this policy. The Board President or any Director can request the travel and/or training request be placed on the agenda of the next regularly scheduled Board meeting for action. Section 5. Cost Control To conserve District resources and keep expenses within community standards for public officials, Director expenditures shall strictly adhere to the following guidelines. The District shall only pay or reimburse those expenses that meet these guidelines. Any expenses incurred in excess of these guidelines are the Director's personal responsibility. Except as otherwise specified in this Policy, the District shall use the current IRS rates established in Publication 463 (and any future amendments) as its reasonable reimbursement rates. A. Transportation The most economical mode and class of transportation reasonably consistent with scheduling needs shall be utilized, using the most direct and time-efficient route available. Pursuant to AB 1234, Directors shall use government and group rates for all transportation when available. 2 Travel & Expense Policy for Directors